Newspaper Column: An Electoral Silver Lining? No, Two

Abstract:

After the sudden judgment revealed on every election night, defeated politicians and their
supporters “just look for the silver lining,” in the words of the song. Sadly, as a rule few are to
be found outside poetry. But last week’s state and county elections may prove the exception.
Leaving aside the wounds of defeated politicians, disappointed voters of both parties may find
favorable local prospects resulting from outcomes they sought to prevent.The big news, drawing national media coverage, was the GOP’s capture of a working majority in the Virginia House of Delegates. For the first time since the Civil War aftermath, Republicans will control, beginning in the year 2000, both houses of the General Assembly and the principal elected offices in the executive branch of government.